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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

In an effort to feed my family more raw foods, I am working on making vegetables the main course for two of our meals. Having salads for lunch is nothing new around here, but eating mostly vegetables for dinner is. I've had to get really creative! There have only been a few complaints and every once in a while I'll make a fancy dinner where vegetables are not the main course, just to treat my very agreeable family. :)

Lots of people claim to eat healthy. Healthy is relative. A vegetarian would tell you that they eat healthy foods, but I would disagree. I think God gave us meat to enjoy. Really, He gave us all foods to enjoy. But what is food? I think that food is something that is alive; something that will spoil. Brightly colored, packaged, chemical-filled items are not food. I am famous for telling my kids, "That is not food!", when someone is tempting them with candy. I want to get it into their minds so they will recognize it when they are older. So how do you know if you are eating healthy? One good sign is to look at how much compost you and your family generate in a day. By the end of the day, the compost bucket should be full of orange peels, apple cores, banana peels, kiwi skins, onion skins, carrot tops, beet tops, lettuce ends, celery tops, avocado skins, zucchini tops, and such. If the compost bucket is empty, and the garbage can is full of colorful boxes, cans, plastic bags, and pretty wrappers, well, you are probably not eating what you should be eating. (Although frozen fruits and vegetables do come in plastic bags and don't generate compost, but they do count as healthy foods.) God's foods are naturally beautiful. They don't have to come in fancy eye-catching packaging. Their colors are not manufactured in a lab, and they contain exactly what we need to maintain health.

One of the best ways to include more healthy foods in your diet, is to think of fruits and vegetables as the main course and the rest of your meal as a side dish. Once you start eating all those fiber rich foods, you will fill up fast. And the best part about eating healthy foods is that you can eat as much as you want (or as much as you can) and you will not gain weight. There are so many benefits to making produce the main course. You will be slim, healthy, and happy - meaning you will weigh what you should, feel good, and have balanced hormones.

Here are some samples of our lunches.

Vegetable Pizza

Sourdough crust with pizza sauce and melted cheese.

On top we put raw veggies - broccoli, tomatoes, onions, and mixed greens.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Sunday, February 17, 2013

It has been so much fun to get to meet the families that have come to buy puppies. Next week one will get flown to Massachusetts and another family will come at the end of the month. That means there are only five left! I think my children are hoping that nobody else calls. :)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Slowly but surely the boys are making progress on their cabin, but they have been hindered and somewhat distracted by another snow storm. Having to take breaks to play in the snow doesn't seem to bother them too much though. :)

Last week they were out there working for the whole afternoon, so I decided to throw on my boots and hike the quarter mile path through the snow and out to their site. I packed some snacks and headed out. As soon as I walked out of the house with my gear on, and Jackson saw me, he did this little leap in the air as if to say, "Yippee, where we headed this time?". He loves going on walk through the slough with me.

The exercise felt good, and it was a beautiful day! When I got out there, the boys were working away. With their axes, they were notching the logs and making them fit together. It is slow work! The logs should be debarked, but that is a really tough job in the winter, so they plan to try to get some of the bark off in the spring. Hopefully they can get the walls up and the roof on before everything thaws. Our slough usually floods in the spring, but the boys plan to use the boat they got from Grandpa to get out to their cabin. But the job of cutting down trees will be almost impossible if the trees are in a lake of water. :) We'll see how this goes! :)

I am using this quiet season on the farm to keep up with my studies. My second course with the School of Natural Healing needs to be completed by June. When I first started taking courses, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy HAVING to study, verses wanting to learn so I can treat someone. But I have been enjoying every minute of it! Some days I wish I had more time to study, but it is not a priority for me. Serving my family comes first!

This afternoon, my little girl had her first behind the wheel instruction. The guy was here at 3pm to pick her up. He showed up in a little soup can which was unfortunate considering the fact that we just had a snow storm, and we drive four-wheel drive vehicles. :) In other words, our driveway was not plowed. :) He made it up the driveway just fine, but Emily drove the car out of the driveway...well, at least she attempted to. :) Once they got to the end of the driveway, they got stuck. After a few attempts by Em to get the car out, the instructor got out and started pushing. First he pushed from the back, then the front. Back and forth they went, to no avail. Seeing the need, Ben and Jonny raced down the driveway in the Ranger. Now the three of them pushed from the back and then the front. Back and forth, again, to no avail. Finally the guy had Emily get out, and she helped push while he tried to get the car out of the deep snow. After about five more minutes of pushing, the car was out! What a great way to start! :) I was standing on the porch cheering for Emily and taking pictures. It was pretty funny! :)

P.S. My boys wanted me to point out the fact that this car was a Chevy. :)

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Last week we took these pictures of the puppies out in the fenced herb garden. We don't keep them out long, but try to get them out daily because the fresh air and exercise is good for them. For this event, I round up all the children because I am not crazy enough to watch eleven puppies by myself. :) Of course the kids jump at any opportunity to play with the pups. :) It takes a few minutes to get them all out. We can each take two at a time (that's eight), and that leaves two more people to grab the last three.

Once out, they set off exploring. On this particular day, Duchess, Emily's half rag doll cat, also joined us in the garden. I think she was curious about the fluffy white balls jumping around. :) The pups enjoyed meeting her, but Duchess was not as friendly as they were; she kept her distance. :)

Today we enjoyed a winter storm! The kids were sledding behind the four wheeler and having snowball fights with dad. And of course they made some time to play with the puppies in the fresh snow. Everyone had a blast! Here are some pictures of Em and the pups. She took two out at a time to keep it manageable. :)

The puppies are now old enough to have access to the outdoors. There is a little door that we open in their pen that lets them go in and out as they wish. This morning the door was closed because of the wind, but they still had a little time outside playing in the snow with Emily. :)

My family really blessed me on my birthday. When they ask me what I want to do, I usually respond with a request for the day off. So that is what we did - took the day off, well, at least I did. :) Emily cooked up a storm in the kitchen and the boys helped her. After breakfast in bed, my husband took me shopping and out for coffee. When we got home, the whole family went for a hike in a park. In the evening we relaxed with a family movie. It was a very nice day! Thanks guys! :)

This is the large wooden spoon that Jonny made me for my birthday. It's gorgeous!

This is a very well-made picture viewer that Ben made me. The pictures go in the slots and you can turn the handle to view the pictures.

Pretty neat!

Emily really surprised me for my birthday! She bought us a stay at a Bed and Breakfast! She also did this two years ago, for my 40th. This time we stayed at the Nicolin Mansion in Jordan. It was beautiful! We left Sunday afternoon and got home Monday night. What can I say? My daughter spent her own money to buy some time with me - how precious is that? We had a wonderful girls getaway! :)

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